WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM

Light at end of tunnel in woman's credit card snafu

Thomas Wilim died unexpectedly on Aug. 11, leaving his wife, Cindy, with two young children, a sea of grief--and a mountain of bills.

Because all of the bills were in Thomas' name, Cindy scrambled to get the accounts switched to her name. Most of them went smoothly, but not her GM credit card.

When the bill arrived, she called the company and told a representative that Thomas had died. She thought the company would simply put her name on the account and continue on.

Instead, the credit card was canceled.

When a collection agency called asking her to pay off the balance, Wilim panicked. On Aug. 31, she paid the full balance, putting the $4,910.28 on her mom's credit card.

What she didn't realize at the time was that the University of Phoenix in Schaumburg, where her husband had been taking night classes, had agreed to refund his July tuition of $1,159.

The school had charged Wilim's credit card before the card was canceled. By the time the University of Phoenix tried to take the charge back, Wilim had already paid the collection agency. The card no longer existed.

Wilim said a GM credit card representative told her in early September that the company would refund her the $1,159.

She said she called repeatedly and was told each time the check would be sent via express mail. But it wasn't.

"I keep telling them I don't know what they consider overnight, but that's the next day," Wilim said after contacting the Tribune's What's Your Problem column.

The columnist called HSBC Bank, which issues the GM credit card. Spokesman Stephen Cohen said the company sent Wilim a check on Oct. 26, but it was sent to the wrong address.

Cohen said Friday that another check had been sent Thursday via next-day air.

But that check didn't arrive the next day. In fact, by Tuesday afternoon, the check still hadn't arrived at Wilim's home.

Contacted Tuesday, Cohen said he had misspoken, and that HSBC had not sent a check Thursday.

He said the company first had to cancel the check sent Oct. 26 and reissue it to Wilim's correct address.

That, Cohen said, was done Tuesday afternoon, and the check should arrive Wednesday.

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